'Off the rails': Trump says he stopped 'train wreck' Musk's 'inappropriate' move
Donald Trump hit his former associate, world's richest man Elon Musk, with a stinging rebuke on Sunday.
Trump's comments come after Musk, who split with Trump publicly over the so-called "big, beautiful" bill, announced he was launching a third political party in a move that could harm the GOP.
Trump took to his own social media site, Truth Social, to post one of his longest rants of all time about the tech CEO.
"I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks. He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States - The System seems not designed for them," Trump wrote. "The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds!"
Trump went on to say, "Republicans, on the other hand, are a smooth running 'machine,' that just passed the biggest Bill of its kind in the History of our Country."
"It is a Great Bill but, unfortunately for Elon, it eliminates the ridiculous Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time," Trump claimed. "I have been strongly opposed to that from the very beginning. People are now allowed to buy whatever they want - Gasoline Powered, Hybrids (which are doing very well), or New Technologies as they come about - No more EV Mandate. I have campaigned on this for two years and, quite honestly, when Elon gave me his total and unquestioned Endorsement, I asked him whether or not he knew that I was going to terminate the EV Mandate - It was in every speech I made, and in every conversation I had. He said he had no problems with that - I was very surprised!"
Trump continued:
"Additionally, Elon asked that one of his close friends run NASA and, while I thought his friend was very good, I was surprised to learn that he was a blue blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before. Elon probably was, also. I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life."
"My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!" Trump concluded.